GERMANY: Knut, Berlin Zoo's celebrity polar bear cub, receives 1 millionth visitor on the day he turns 7 months old

32-year-old Dutch tourist Ilja Arends was the one millionth visitor to see Knut, a day after she and husband Vincent saw a report about Knut on television. "Last night we saw on television that they were expecting the 1 millionth visitor at the zoo," Arends told reporters. "We were planning to go to the zoo and joked that we could be the ones. When I stood in line to buy the tickets I saw all these camera people and thought to myself: And now? And then they gave us the flowers. It was all very unexpected," Arends said. Knut is growing from a cuddly ball of fur into a shaggy, powerful predator who could soon pose a serious threat to his devoted human keeper Thomas Doerflein who has nursed the animal from birth. His snout is longer, his torso chunkier and teeth sharper. Knut still draws some 5,000 fans every day. Doerflein, who for months slept in Knut's enclosure to feed him milk and porridge through the night, still rolls on the ground with the cub in his twice daily shows. But he has taken to pulling his long sleeves over his hands to protect them and winces when the cub bites him on the bottom. Captivated admirers watch Doerflein duck and shoulder away Knut when he gets boisterous. In June, Knut learned how to swim and Doerflein takes Knut for a walk round the Zoo every morning to build up his muscles. His coat is no longer white and fluffy, but yellow and shaggy. Knut was rejected by his mother, Tosca, and hit the headlines after an animal rights campaigner said hand-rearing polar bears violated animal rights. German media interpreted the comments as a call for Knut to be put down. Since then, Knut has become a brand. He has his own song, DVD and book deal and features in a range of merchandise from soft toys and T-shirts to sweets.

ITN Source | July 4, 2007

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